Improvement in seats and couches for sleeping-cars



E. McNElLL.

Car Seat and Couch.

N0. 24,136. Patented May 24, 1859.

Witnesses v Inventor, %m@@ M AM.PHOT0 LITHD. C0. N.Y.(D8BORNES PROCESS.)

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrce.

THOMAS E. MGNEILL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT lN SEATS AND COUCHES FOR SLEEPING-CARS.

. Specification forming part of Letters Patent- No. 24,136, dated May24,1859.

' for Sleeping-Oars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear and exact description of the same, reference being had to-theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement oftwo adjacent seats, each having two detachable cushioned boards, andalso an end and rear frame, in comhination with a swing-bracket andarib, or their equivalents, the whole of which is fully describedhereinafter, being so arranged that the cushioned boards of the twoadjacent seats may be readily converted into two couches, and so thatthere may be a vacant space between the end frames and couches on eachside, said spaces to be used as passages during the night.

My invention further consists in constructing the end frame of eachseat, substantially as specified hereinafter, so thatfour of the framesmay serve as supports for two intermediate couches.

In order to enable others to make and use my invention, I will nowproceed to describe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form part of thisspecification, Figure 1 isa transverse sectional elevation of arailroadcar with my improved seats as arranged for day use; Fig. 2, thesame arranged for night use Fig. 3, a longitudinal section of part ofthe car on the line 1 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, the same on the line 3 4, Fig.2; Fig. 5, a plan view of Fig. 3; Fig. 6, a plan view of Fig. 4,

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A represents the floor,B the roof, andG and C the opposite sides of thebody, of a railwaycar. v

The seats are so arranged throughout the interior of the car that twoadjacent seats shall face each other, as seen in Fig. 3, the seats onone side of the car being exactly in a line with and a counterpart ofthose on the opposite side, as seen in Fig. 5. Each seat is constructedas follows:

A frame, D, which forms the outer support of one seat, is secured firmlyto the floor, and on the inside of the frame is a projecting ledge, onwhich rests one end of the cushioned board E, which forms the base ofthe seat, the opposite end of the board resting on a ledge, a,projecting from the side of the car.

A frame, F, is secured to the side and floor of the car, and on the topof this frame is a hook or pin, to'which is hung the cushioned board G,which rests against pinsor other attachments on the end frame, D, andside of the car, so that the board may assume the inclined positionillustrated in Fig. 3, where the seats are illustrated as arranged forday use. Midway between two seats thus arranged a bracket, H, is so hungto the side of the car that it can be folded back or made to project outat pleasure, and beneath this bracket a rib, I, is secured to the floor,the length of both bracket and rib being equal to the width of one ofthe cushioned boards G or E. When the latter have to be converted intocouches for night usethe inclined cushions of the two adjacent seats areunhooked from the pins on the frames F and placed end to end, so thatthe coinciding ends rest on the bracket H, while the outer end of onecushioned board rests on a ledge, i, projecting from the frame F of oneseat, and the outer end of the other board on a similar ledge on theframe F of the adjacentseat. Thecushioned boards G, which during the dayform a rest for the backs of the passengers, are thus by the above arrangement converted into one reclining couch. The cushioned hoards E of thetwo adjacent seats are then removed and disposed of in a similar mannerto that described above, the coinciding ends of the board resting on therib l and the outer ends on the ledges h, one of which projects from theframe F of each seat. The cushioned boards E, which form part of theseat during the day, thus become available as a second reclining-couch,which is situated so far below the first as to be easy of access to apassenger who desires to assumea recumbent position; It will be observedthat two seats thus arranged are capable of accommodating fourpassengers in a sitting position, but only afi'ord accommodation for twopassengers in a reclining position- It therefore becomes necessary tomake arrangements for additional the cushioned boards are furnished'atthe end couches.

After two seats on each side of the car have been convertedintocouches,as described above, it will be seen that there will be twovacant spaces, X and X, Fig. 6, between the sides of the couches and theinside of the permanent end frames, D. These spaces I allow to remainvacant, so as to form two longitudinal passages extending throughout theentire length of the car. The middle passage between the ends D of theseat, which is used during the day, consequently becomes unnecessaryduring the night. I therefore avail myself of this space for thereception of two additional couches. Two long cushioned boards, J and K,the disposal of which during the day will be alluded to hereinafter, areplaccdin this middle passage, their ends resting on ledges projectin gfrom the permanent end frames, D, of the four seats, as seen in Figs. 2and 6, the upper board, J, being on a level with the couches formed bythe cushioned boards GG and the lower board on alevel with the couchesformed by the cushioned boards E. Two more reclining-couches arerequired for the remainder of the passengers who occupy the four seatsduring the day. These consist of longitudinal boards M, one of which issituated on each side of the car, directly above the side couches, asseen in Fig. 2, the boards resting on brackets m,suspended from the roofof the car. Prior to the conversion of the couches into ordinary seatsthe intermediate cushioned boards J and K are removed from theirsupports, and one is placed above the board M on one side of the car andthe other. above that on the opposite side of the car. Both boards arethen hoisted tothe roof, and there secured out of the way by means ofturn-buckles or other suitable devices, as seen in Fig.

It should be understood that the whole of with hinged boards or platesas, which admit of being folded down or raised at pleasure, the platesthus serving as foot and head boards for the couches. v

The cushioned boards J K and M M may be disposed of throughout the carin various ways, so as not to interfere with the comfort ofthepassengers during the day, and, if necessary, an additional couch maybe suspended from the roof directly above the couch J.

I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. .Two adjacent seats,each seat having detachable cushioned boards G andE, and each having apermanent end frame, D, and a .rear frame,1F, with upper and lowerledges, i and h, in combination with the swing-bracket H and rib I, .ortheir equivalents, the whole being arranged substantially as herein setforth, so that the cushioned boards G of the two adjacent seats may formone couch and the boards E of the same seats another couch, and so thatwhen the said boards are arranged as couches there may bea space betweenthem and the permanent end frames, D, for the purpose specified.

2. Constructing and arranging .the end frames, D, of four seats,substantially in the manner herein set forth, so that they may serve assupports for the cushioned platforms which form the intermediate berths.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOS. E. MONE ILL.

Witnesses:

HENRY HOWSON, O. E. FOSTER.

